Court is back in session for Maomao, as Jinshi gives our heroine her old job back to keep her away from the grasp of her scheming father. Which is the least he could do when she saved his life. But, while the two of them hate each other, Maomao and her father have a thing or two in common…
As Maomao recovers from her injuries, we get a delightful parlour scene, in mystery parlance, where Maomao breaks down the various pieces that came together to make the plot on Jinshi’s life.
It’s a solid opener, not least of which because it quickly escalates to a frenzy of corpse desecration and makes a very quick steal from the real-life basis for zombies (bless this book for showing its work). Vintage Maomao all around.
With her move back to the court, Maomao gets more involved with the politics than she has been for a bit. Which I can honestly take or leave, so these parts do drag a bit more than the norm. As usual, we don’t have much to catch us up on who is who either, so some of these consorts I should recognize… not so much.
And, as is also usual, the character work just saves the manga every time it flags at all. Maomao can’t help solving problems and that even extends to her being nice to the useless physician we haven’t seen for a bit.
(I also love the way the manga associates all these characters with animals of one type or another and it probably isn’t a coincidence that I like Maomao so much and she’s frequently depicted as a cat.)
With her taking the fight to her father after he sets Jinshi on an impossible task that Maomao has to achieve, we get to see that Maomao is truly the best of both her father and her mother, at least from the little hints we get of the latter.
The confrontation between father and daughter might be basic, but it’s still very cleverly done, much like the bulk of this story. It also takes advantage of Maomao’s father knowing how she is, but her thinking to take advantage of that.
With his temperament to not see people as anything but playing pieces, literally, we get enough to explain why dear old dad is the way he is. It’s not quite worth our sympathy, but it makes it more interesting than I thought, which I liked. It doesn’t hurt that, as a visual conceit, it drives home what he considers worthy in a unique way.
Otherwise, it’s the same old same, but when it’s this good and this much fun then it’s hard to complain too much. The near-nude sequence in this one is a howler from start to finish and gets a great follow-up. It’s one of the funniest things the series has done yet, poor Jinshi.
I’m also starting to really love the lopsided love affair between Jinshi and Maomao. The latter has no interest in a eunuch (or somebody who seems like one), but we know that Jinshi isn’t actually one and his fondness for Maomao comes through in some fun, subtle ways.
5 stars - probably a 4, but that’s just how it goes with this series. Plus, I really appreciated the way it’s going about depicting Maomao’s origins. She’ll never be anything less than a truly brilliant character and if Frieren did not exist this would probably cinch my favourite series spot.
A lot of stuff is happening!!! Lingli is too adorable. Also I love Li Haku’s total devotion to Pai Ling. He’s so pathetically in love with her, how could I not adore it?
This volume truly feels, not like filler per se, but it definitely feels like not much happens. I again like Maomao's quick wit when solving issues and always look forward to her interactions with Jinshi. The side characters got a little more page time in this volume and that might have had something to do with how I perceived the volume being less forward moving. Hoping that the next one sees more action.
Un tome que j'ai un peu moins apprécié que les précédents. Il avait bien commencé mais mon intérêt a assez vite diminué. Je trouve ces intrigues et révélations autour des courtisanes plutôt inintéressantes (chacun son truc, mais moi c'est une partie qui a tendance à m'ennuyer). J'ai hâte d'en apprendre plus sur Lacan et Jinshi m'intrigue toujours autant ! Vivement savoir qui il est vraiment !
4.5/5 Tome riche en rebondissement, je l'ai lu plus lentement pour mieux comprendre les rebondissement et les liens entre les personnages, il y a toujours cet humour que j'apprécie. Hâte de lire la suite
1.75 Stars *I've decided I won't write long book reviews for books under two stars unless it's a rant or I have a lot to say!* << *Every single person in this world can view a work of literature and have completely different thoughts and opinions. My opinion is not meant to offend you. If you do not want to see a review criticizing your favourite book (or a book you enjoyed), then I recommend not proceeding with reading this review.>>
What I liked: -[Jinshi's character exploration] Despite being a small snippet, it was really interesting to discover something about his character that was game-changing. I really love that Jinshi's relevancy to the plot becomes more prominent as he becomes a greater part of things.
-[Maomao's unique personality] I love how enthusiastic Maomao is. Her obsession with poison is hilarious. While it isn't necessarily a good thing that she likes to inflict harm on herself by letting snakes bite her and eating poison, it does make her character different than others. She doesn't do it with ill intent to hurt herself out of hatred or satisfaction, but rather curiosity in testing out poisons and seeing her reactions to them. Her expression when coming across a discovery, finding herbs, and drinking poison is hilarious. I love how sarcastic Maomao is, yet how determined she is about those she cares about.
-[The excerpt of volume 8] It was really interesting to see a part of Lakan's character. It was an interesting chapter that simmered with tension and mystery. I really enjoyed this chapter in particular!
What I disliked: -[Certain parts of the plot] The ending proposed a really interesting storyline with a lot of tension. This particular tone simmered out into a more lighthearted, meandering plot line. I felt it was unneeded to have one scene with Pai Ling's breasts showing without her wearing anything to cover them. Then there was that scene where Li Haku took off almost all his clothes because Maomao wanted to see his "assets."
-[No continuous mystery or string of mysteries that connect to one giant plot ] Each book is like a standalone with little to connect the story but the same characters and a similar tone. Still, the tone goes from lighthearted to dark, boring, and then action-filled.
__________________________________________________ In conclusion, I will not be continuing this series.
We continue learning more about Maomao's background. I liked learning more about her relationship with her older sister Pai Ling. To be honest, I'm willing to fight Li Haku for her, but alas, she's a fictional character. I wish we got to see more of Maomao's relationship with the other women in Verdigris. I think her relationships with other women are the most interesting in this series.
L'enquête avance, tout semble lié, mais patience, visiblement, les révélations c'est pas pour tout de suite !
Toujours aussi chouette ce manga, même si j'ai tendance à oublier des détails en lisant par petits bouts, un tome par-ci, un tome par-là... Et les dessins sont toujours magnifiques !
I rather enjoy this series, mostly because I love the heroine, and drawing style, but I feel really iffy sometimes about how gender, manhood and womanhood are handled.
Also I am so disappointed how useless Jinshi is, who I thought will become a cunning, interesting character in the series, but no boy he is boring.
Aww a baby and the little princess is growing up. Poor Maomao having to work through her injury, the roses were clever though and I’m glad she was able to face her father.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This volume had me warming up to Lakan of all people. Is he really all that bad? I wonder what happened to Maomao’s mother and why Maomao hates Lakan so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
In which we learn more about Maomao’s mysterious past but the « investigation » is a bit put aside. I guess it serves a purpose but I can’t wait to know more and get to the bottom of things.